We’re just as sweaty and nervous, we just hide it better

While we were hanging out or studying, I would answer a phone call and hastily tell them I had to leave.

In retrospect, their suspicions made perfect sense, but in reality I was just hanging out with my mom. She worked nearby, and I was desperate for a familiar face (and some free food).

Sure, I was having a blast starting out at Ryerson, but everything was still so new and terrifying. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing or where to go, but it seemed like everyone else did. Students would walk by me with beaming confidence, or with a hurried annoyance that made me believe they’ve been around the bend a few times.

Eventually I found my footing on campus—making friends, finding local haunts and figuring out a good system for writing last-minute essays. But for a while it felt like I was the only one who didn’t have it figured out.

If you’re a froshie just starting out this year, chances are you feel the same way. There’s a million little things nobody tells you about, from where to eat to how you can figure out if your program is right for you.

But always remember: Every single student at Ryerson has been in that position. No matter how put-together they may seem now, they were as lost as you might feel right now. The only ones that won’t admit it are probably named Tyler and think being older than someone else gives them all the power in university.

Our issue this week is filled with the things you want to know about Ryerson but probably wouldn’t ask your orientation guide. And while our writers and editors are connoisseurs of our occasionally-sewage-scented campus by now, our advice doesn’t come from nowhere. Behind every recommended hangout spot is a shared memory spent there after a study break, every coffee recommendation is marked by a time they got Tim Hortons and immediately wished they hadn’t.

At this point I hope the knowledge that everybody else at Ryerson is as scared and sweaty as you are has filled you with an insatiable desire to put yourself out there. Please do!

Join a bunch of clubs, get embarrasingly wrecked by our Smash Bros. pros, trip in public and don’t try to pretend it didn’t happen. You could even come work with us.

Getting used to a new environment takes time. Luckily, if you’re serious about spending the next four years or so here, you’ve got plenty of it to spare.

For returning students who already know the drill, welcome back! Salad King is still here.